How Lorne Lucree used a beauty playbook to disrupt the allergy aisle with Wizard Wellness

0:07Hi, everyone. Thanks for tuning into the Glossy Beauty Podcast, a show about the business of beauty and wellness. I'm your host, Glossy's West Coast correspondent, Lexi Lebsack. I've been thinking a lot about disruptor brands lately. Specifically, disruptors using a beauty industry playbook to launch into sleepy categories with a lot of runway for innovation, newness, nice branding, better marketing, cleaner ingredient lists, and so forth. Categories like oral care have been flooded with new brands and products, including the launch of Dyson's first toothbrush this week for only$500. But this also includes dandruff shampoo, deodorant, eye care, and more recently, the allergy aisle.

0:52My guest today is Lauren Lucree, a longtime beauty formulator and executive turned allergy category disruptor. He's worked for a ton of great beauty brands. He is ex-Unilever, ex-Estee Lauder companies, and earlier this year, he launched an allergy company called Wizard Wellness. Wizard Wellness is drug-free, focused on the microbiome of the nose. It comes in fun formats, including a mouth strip that dissolves on your tongue. The positioning is also very youthful. They're popping up around outdoor music festivals as one of their primary marketing levers. Wizard Wellness launched DTC in January and quickly entered CVS, Walmart, and as of this week, Target stores.

1:34I chatted with Lauren about his journey from beauty to wellness, including the challenges that he faced, what it took to enter brick and mortar mass retailers, the funding he needed to accomplish all of this, and so much more. So let's get into it. Here's my conversation with Lauren LeCree, the CEO and founder of Wizard Wellness.

2:00Lauren, welcome to the Glossy Beauty Podcast. I'm so happy you're here.

2:03Lorne Lucree: So happy to be here. Thank you for having me. It's my pleasure. And I've been wanting to have this conversation about disruptors in these categories that have been very sleepy, very dusty. And now we see big movement in things like toothpaste and deodorant and dandruff care, and now in allergy care, thanks to Wizard Wellness. a big big congrats on the launch you've done a lot in 10 months oh my gosh thank you thank you i probably look it too so thank god for thank you for prestige beauty but yes uh i appreciate it yeah yeah well you were very much a beauty guy an executive a formulator um what was that moment where you decided like i'm gonna do it i'm gonna disrupt the multi-billion dollar allergy category oh my god i was like you know like i always say like when you're in product development or innovation there's like all these levers you can pull to to disrupt and break through and typically with products there's maybe you know because it can be either consumer insight or packaging or raw material or you know a brand new gesture or something you're introducing the market and oftentimes there's only a few of those levers you can pull and the rest you just kind of you know you you take a pass on so like maybe it's the existing packaging so you just focus on more on raw material to disrupt or things like that and i remember when i was when this idea first came to me i was like it's rare that it's like all the boxes are unchecked because it's like there's no disruption happening here there's like cool science that's available there's like a consumer want for drug-free options i'm seeing it in beauty and supplements etc and definitely trickling into to otc space as well and so it was one of those things where i was like oh my gosh like i got to explore it and then it's just literally one morning i woke up and i was like told my poor husband i was like i i have to do this like it's like it was one of those like i It just has to happen.

3:50Like I can't not do it because somebody else will do it if I don't.

3:53Lorne Lucree: And I was like, I have this amazing beauty network around me and now's the time. Yeah. Wow. So you were, I'm assuming you were sort of dual tracking this along with a lot of your other work in beauty, right? It was an idea that I had had at the end of the course of my work at Unilever. And I'd always thought about being an entrepreneur, honestly. Like I think as a, that's kind of an interview, you always think about like, you have always those random ideas and whatever it might be. And then I think it was one of those, like, I'm not one to ask for help that often. You know me, I'm not, I'm a, I'm an individual contributor most often of like operating kind of by myself.

4:29Lorne Lucree: And then I show, uh, and I never really asked for favors. And I was like, now's the time. I have amazing retail partner friends. I have marketing friends, investor friends. Now's the time. If there's any time now is the present and I'm going to regret it if I, if I don't do it. So, uh, yeah, that was it. Yeah. How exciting. Okay, so how much did you take on in funding? How did you pitch investors? And how did you sort of kick this off, like those early days? Like an idiot. Like I was, oh my God, it's like you think you know so much. And then when you're actually in it, I'm like, I have to build a deck.

5:04Lorne Lucree: Like, what do I do? Like, what do I do? Like, how do you? And you're like, okay, so you start with the deck. And it's like, and even then socializing the idea, because I remember some of the first conversations I had, it was like, you know, wait, like, you know, allergy care, like essential oils or stuff you put up your nose. And I'm like, but yeah, but it's like bigger, it's a bigger idea than that. You know, it's all these other things. And you're, and you realize the importance of really having like clarity of story and messaging and truly identifying kind of what's new, better, different and how, and then, you know, that kind of manifests itself in your deck.

5:33Lorne Lucree: So that was, you know, first and foremost. And then it was really, it started with literally like one conversation that then like just led to another led to another so it was like it's interesting like one of my first conversations was with uh with he'll he'll own up to this it was with rich from true beauty and he of course was like this is a great idea no we're not funding i was like okay well thank you but he did introduce me to the next call was a gentleman who did you know mike who was amazing and and then we ended up coming back around to to talk to rich and christina and at True Beauty.

6:05Lorne Lucree: And then, you know, they were excited, you know, had come around at the time and just raised another fund who works really excited about wellness. And so then it happened. So it's all, you know, right place, right time. But it really was a lot of no's and then talk to this person, talk to this person. And it just goes to show the magic of the beauty community, honestly, is like, it is, it's phenomenal. Honestly, I didn't, I didn't appreciate as much as I did after seeing how just generous and kind everybody was. Everybody was, yeah. So it feels very emblematic of what's happening with beauty investments right now where, you know, beauty investors, these VCs, these private equity firms, they are sort of reaching out and going into these other categories.

6:42Do you think that's a big trend or do you think we'll hit a wall with that?

6:44Lorne Lucree: I think you're seeing it like, you know, I often say like, because that was the other question was like, one, it's like, you know, yes, essential oils and stuff up your nose. But two was like, why don't you why don't you just make a hair care brand? That's what you do. Like, you know, and I think my response was like, I don't even know what I would do, to be honest. It's so, we've talked about, like, there's just so much and everywhere you turn, it's like, and it's interesting. Now I talk to buyers on the retail side and they feel the same, honestly. Like, it's like, how do you place your bets when everything, and no shade, but like, when it ends up being somewhat of a slowdown in innovation at the end of the day, because you just see a lot of more me too's and it's happening in supplements as well, like creatine and protein and all these things.

7:26Lorne Lucree: It's like, where do you start to think, you know, in celebrity brands or not? Or how do you start to think about these things? And I think what the buyers appreciate, and I think what the investors do as well is like, one, it's an untapped category, but I think it's just like bringing true science plus a fully formed brand ID, identity, consumer insights, all these things together in a way that's like disruptive and feels like. I always say, I feel like the brand is a$500 million brand. We're not, spoiler alert. But I feel like we should be, you know, the way we're thinking about and presenting ourselves, they're trying to be that just based on all the experience and things like that.

8:02Lorne Lucree: So I think that read to the investors. And I think they're excited by all these other categories, seeing how the consumers follow along as well, too. Yeah. Are you sharing publicly how much funding you took on? Yeah, we've raised almost 7 million to date. And I know it sounds like a lot. It's wild to even say that. I remember when the first, I remember, like, who am I? I'm like, I remember when the first million came through in my little like Amex. I love this. In my little Amex cell phone, I'm like checking for the wire to come. And then I've like literally dropped my phone because I'm like, I don't want to, I don't want to do anything.

8:36I've never had that much fun in my life. So I'm like, what do I do? Press the wrong button and it disappears.

8:42Lorne Lucree: Totally. So now it's like. So, but it's, but it's all went into, you know, product testing, the science, the research, all the stuff you need to, even before retail, like all that stuff, like the product development, the consumer tested every product, the clinical testing, all of it, all of it was money really well spent, but we needed to, because if we didn't have one product, we launched with set, this is all those, what, seven products, you know, we needed a full suite, which fed the insight around the consumers and how they're shopping allergy. And then, of course, for retail, investments in inventory and awareness and all that, which is a whole other beast, you know.

9:20Lorne Lucree: So, yeah. Did you work with retailers as you were putting this together? Or did you kind of come to them with a fully baked concept ready to go? It's fascinating. Like, it was a fully baked concept with enough runway to have their fingerprints on it. So I having years of working with Sephora, which I just think is an amazing brand partner in the way that they they work upstream with brands and seeing the value that they add, they know their consumers backwards and forwards and like they are the experts. And so I wanted the same for for Wizards. You know, I wanted to get in front of these retailers as quickly as possible to be able to shape whether it's packaging or messaging or how we're showing up or whatever it might be.

10:02Lorne Lucree: And so, yes, they did. So they were you know, we were able to get in front of them. I think one of my first retailer meetings was February of 20, February of 25. So it was me with like my little product samples and, you know, we didn't have our custom package. She wasn't doing it or whatever. So it was like, you know, in the showcasing everything. And luckily they bought, you know, they were excited. They bought into the branding, they bought into the whole idea, et cetera. And so it was just really belief in that. And so it was taking, continuing the conversations from there. But really from a proposition standpoint, not a lot of feedback.

10:31Lorne Lucree: only thing was around like some of the packaging was really where we where we focused and getting that retail ready because of uh you know coming from prestige it's like you know my creative designer she's amazing but she would have had a bare package with just a w on the front if she had her druthers so we need to have it a bit more mass friendly at the end of the day so yeah okay so that's the direction the packaging went in they went in like bolder more more descriptive of more just yes a more like i'd say like the branding was great it was a much more it was much more sparse and looked probably a bit more prestige what you'd find in if you found allergic here at sephora maybe one day you will um but uh we actually engaged a an amazing fred hart who's an amazing cpg packaging consultant um and that he engaged us with governess which is a creative agency who does a lot of amazing cpg kind of food and packaging and then they jumped in and did we We basically did a four-week sprint to revamp all our packaging, which was like both exciting and terrifying at the same time.

11:30Lorne Lucree: But it did, like giving key points, what to get rid of, what to add, iconography, color stories, all those things, which was all, you know, so it was really crash course in CPG mass packaging. Yeah. Wow. How did you know that this was going to work? You know, it's like, yeah, how did you know that this was going to, because it seems to be working so well. You're 10 months and we're going to talk about your retailers. But how did you know that this would work? I think it's like, it's, as an entrepreneur, I just think you, like, I often read that, like, you just have to have this, like, almost inflated sense of belief that, like, whatever.

12:03Lorne Lucree: And, you know, almost, like, manifesting that, yes, this is going to. So I think that's one side of it, of just, like, having this confidence that, like, I truly believe that this is both good for the consumer, good for business, etc. But also balancing that with, like, hearing and incorporating feedback. Like I lean on my investors so much for inputs and feedback. I lean on my retail partners so much for feedback. And that's actually things that feedback I've gotten is like, not all founders are the same. Some feel so confident about their idea. They're just like blinders on and just want to do that.

12:35Lorne Lucree: And I feel like there's things I'm very aware of. I know what I know and I know what I don't know. And so having those inputs around, whether it's branding or retail partners or how to navigate some of these things, I've been really receptive to. And I think you have to, as a founder, to know that and have the humbleness to be able to say like, I need help here. I don't know this part, like help me. Cause I don't want to, you know, I want to move quickly and that's, that's all part of it, you know, and mistakes will happen, but it's minimizing those as you can. So, but yeah, fundamentally, I think it goes back to that, like just that gut feeling of like all these things, like lining up of like this magic moment of like, wow, like this could be something, you know, and just following that through.

13:12Lorne Lucree: Yeah. How do you describe your point of difference and like, how did you know consumers wanted that? Yeah. So it's interesting. So we, in two ways, I'll start with the consumer piece of it, because I'm a data nerd. And I feel like those, those in PD, you can often, I think product developers often go with their gut or intuition, or they're often like makeup junkies or, you know, and they kind of know what they know, and they feel like everybody else. And I always find that that's the perfect balance is having that gut, but balancing that with either consumer feedback or insights or things like that to balance it out to validate it.

13:43Lorne Lucree: And so we did a ton of consumer work up front, probably too much of like pulling research reports, data, et cetera, our own survey as well of 600 consumers. And what we realized was that like, one, there is a huge, I call it this experience, an efficacy gap. So like almost 80 % of consumers are looking for a better experience. So like no burning or no side effects, et cetera. And almost 84 % were looking for a better improved efficacy. So almost those neck and neck. So they want it to work, but they also don't want it to like, you know, suck, like hurts and burn all those things. And only 7 % were loyal to their current solutions, which is bananas.

14:26Lorne Lucree: So you would never find that in skincare. I'm like, skincare, at least you have your favorites. No, no, no. So lesson is like nobody's like, you know, writing love letters to, you know, Ploneys or Dyrtec or whatever. God bless them. So it's just as a necessary evil of like what they're left with. And so we knew that there's this kind of like, oh my God, there's like just being resigned to like, this is the aisle I have to choose from. And here's my, here's the, uh, the options. And then what we see, like educate education on microbiome. So brands like poppy and, and, uh, and seed and skincare brands like the Roche was saying, others to educating on what prebiotics are and postbiotics and probiotics.

15:02Lorne Lucree: So consumers getting those. And in our surveys, we didn't even have to explain what probiotics were. They just saw it. And they're like, you know, it's going to work. I love it. I'm like, do you want to know how? And it's like, not really. It's like, but I love it. So I'm like, okay. And then, and then the shift to looking for cleaner and drug free options, which we know in beauty, we've seen that play out of like, I don't want, you know, I want where, where possible, I'd like to have cleaner options. And it doesn't necessarily mean like, 100 % natural just means like, maybe less synthetics or less, less, less harmful to my skin or less, whatever it might be just cleaner where I can.

15:37Lorne Lucree: and potentially non-OTC options where I can. And I think that pulling all that into this category we've seen really resonate as consumers. And we've heard it from the retail partners as well when you look at the category of OTC versus non and what's popping. So yeah. That's a great little breakdown and makes perfect sense. I love that you're leading with data here. It's so smart. Thank you. Appreciate it. It is. No, it is. I mean, it's like what consumers want. It's like there's so much data out there. You launched Wizard Wellness in January. We are now in August and you're already in CVS, Walmart.

16:12You're entering Target on August 31st. What does it take to compete in a retail landscape against, I mean, can I call them like big allergy? Is that fair?

16:22Lorne Lucree: Yes, yes, big allergy. Yes, yes. It takes a couple of things. One is an amazing retail partner. So having that, and I, again, I've never worked with Walmart or Target or CVS in my life. And so having somebody on the other side of the table that gets your brand, but also gets that you are six months old, like, and competing in this category. And so you're going to need like to be thought of differently than the big allergy, as you call it. So I think that understanding, it almost taking cues from what they've seen happen in beauty, And we've seen, actually, I've seen that with my own eyes happen of referencing other categories of how to treat us, whether it's digestive health or whether it's brands and beauty of treating emerging brands differently than established brands and how to enable them to be successful in their environment.

17:13Lorne Lucree: So I think that's one, is just having an amazing retail partner on the other side of the table that's going to really get you and help you to grow, I'd say, in a different approach than Big Allergy. the second is i again i go back to that like differentiated idea that's going to show up on shelf to consumers in a way that's understandable but also breakthrough um as well so i think that's that's the second we've heard that play back around like you know bringing not being a me too or you know uh just another brand that's leveraging maybe you know because we could just use another steroid and just launch it in pretty packaging and that's one way to go about it but we you know we chose not to we chose to route around drug free but you know proving efficacy be testing etc so all these other things so leveraging microbiome science so that's i think that's two and then the third is like it's a new world within the within as you know in beauty we take this for granted of the power of tiktok shop the power of social that doesn't that mindset doesn't apply in all categories yet it's so fascinating and so leveraging that beauty playbook in other categories, I think, has got to be, and you see that, I look at what's happening in oral care we talked about now, and it's pretty rad to see how they're finally applying that to this category that, you know, like we said, Boca's been around since, for what, five years?

18:33Lorne Lucree: And now that category is catching up. You're seeing these disruptors come in, but utilizing social, utilizing all these other channels to really disrupt and break through. And I think we are taking the same playbook as well because that halo effect from TikTok is just bananas. So, yeah. Wow. Do the retailers you're working with give you advice or like any kind of like beauty playbook? Like what is sort of their help look like? Help looks like one, helping to enable smooth navigation within their four walls. So whether that's communication with them, communication with their teams or cross-functional teams to help you be successful.

19:13Lorne Lucree: So I think that's navigating that where, cause you don't have, I have an amazing head of retail, Catherine, but that's, that's my retail team. We don't have like a full suite of like, you know, like a full suite of like retail, you know, uh, members that are like going and one dedicated CVS, one target, whatever, whatever. We have one person who's awesome. But so having that, removing that friction has been really helpful. So to help to navigate, to leverage all the tools that they have, whether it's in-store media or, you know, with CVS, we're leveraging DoorDash. They do a lot of amazing work with, you know, DoorDash almost is like kind of ghost distribution for CBS, which is awesome.

19:50Lorne Lucree: So participate in that because when you need solutions, you need them quickly. So allergy is a perfect way to pilot that. So things like that. So they've enabled a lot of that. And leaning in with like Walmart on social. We'll be activating at the Daisy Chain Fields Festival this weekend with Olivia Rodrigo and Cat's Eye or what's left. Fun. Cat's Eye, yes. and leaning in with like Walmart on social for that as well, which is great. And planning, so connecting them with their social team. So things like that that help us feel more connected to them without feeling like a small fish in this huge, huge pond.

20:20Lorne Lucree: I think the other ways is then like us being smart about how we're thinking about terms, contract details, et cetera. And that's where actually the investors are really so helpful because they've seen this movie before. They can help us to understand, correct? Yes. So help us to understand where to push, et cetera. Cause I'm like, again, I'm like, I, you know, that is not my superpower and I hate negotiating and conflict. So it's nice to have a point of reference to be able to think about. And then I think being able to chat through, I'd say, and this is lesson for any founder going into these is thinking about velocity expectations as not a moment in time, but a journey.

20:59Lorne Lucree: And I think that's been one of the key unlocks and that was a, I didn't think of that. One of our retail consultants helped me to think differently about that. is that, you know, if you think about it as a moment in time, you're setting yourself up for failure. If you think about that velocity expectations as a journey of a brand growing with awareness and you're putting, doing all the right things and the retail partners being great partner, you should naturally see that uptick and start to think about those velocities as a, as a partnership discussion. You need to, you know, you want to be flying off the shelves, but as awareness builds, you'll see that improve as well.

21:28Lorne Lucree: And so having, having a bit of a different approach to that. Yeah. You mentioned the Daisy Chain Festival. This has been a big part of your, of your sort of top of funnel, right? Marketing. You've done other music festivals. It's a super smart way to kind of get out there. I think so. I mean, it speaks to the brand. I'm like, I love, I'm a music. I love music. I DJed in New York for four years when I was there. I was like, I'm a big music. It was a past life, pre kids and dog, but yes. So yeah, every Friday night. So like music to me is like, I'm like, I'm not like a TV or movie guy, I'm a music guy.

22:04Lorne Lucree: So I I just love, I love concerts. And so, and I feel like those outdoor concerts are, if you have allergies, are painful. And like the amount of Zyrtec I've seen in bags, those clear bags, you know, people like having to suffer through or whatever anyway. So when we're chatting, we're like, Coachella is such a great, a great way to bring the brand to life. I mean, it's so, it's so busy, but again, allergy is such a weird category that it's like, it's so unique. And I tell you, like, that Palm Desert Walmart was the sinus aisle. I've never seen anything like it. It was like a bomb went off, like decimated.

22:43Lorne Lucree: Like, so if you want a use case for sinus care, it is the desert in April at an outdoor music festival in the middle of fields. Like, that is your place to be, like, rinsing out your sinuses and the whole thing. Yeah. Yeah. It's very, very smart. Very smart direction to go in. Okay. So we talked a little bit about your differentiator. So the microbiome, cleaner ingredients, cuter packaging. We're seeing these, you know, across CPG disruption sort of categories. You know, is there anything else that's on your radar that consumers really, really want? Like what's like V2 of this? I think V2 is like we, you know, because we think about like there's a lot to unpack with wizard like um and it's like a reflection of how like i think of all the data the research etc because we just identified all these area opportunities and i think when i was doing a lot of the work pre-launch i got to talk to a lot of people and you know the one thing i heard over and over again was like you have to work if for that's table stakes like instant relief and allergy is table stakes so before you get to any of your like microbiome and your preventative health and the ritual, like if you don't work, like the game is over.

23:55Lorne Lucree: So like, but we, but our point of difference, as you mentioned is like, is microbiome, it is preventative usage. It's, it's ritual. It's all those things, which I believe is truly the future of, of taking control of your health. Just like you wear your whoop or your aura ring or whatever, your Google, your Google fit. So all those things are, are, are to me where the consumer is going. And so, So I think about the launch as like a couple, you know, phase one being around like educating on how we provide incident relief. And that's why we did consumer claim, consumer testing on all the products to convince people that it actually does work.

24:29But along the way, teaching them around the power of preventative.

24:34Lorne Lucree: And so once you start to use the products, using it every day because it tastes good, it doesn't burn, you enjoy looking at it, you don't mind it in your purse, all those things, it travels well. Then you start to see the benefits of over time. And like, you know, within two weeks, you see less dark under eye circles and less puffy face, you're sleeping well, better, you better mood, all these other things. And so getting people to think differently and change the change the way so change the way they think about allergy overall as a more holistic approach. I say like, the nose is the air filter for the body, as they say.

25:03Lorne Lucree: So like, if you picture like cleaning out your like home air filter, like how disgusting that is, like, that is happening on the daily and like when you want to, and then how that impacts everything else. And so V2 then of this brand is like beyond just educating on core and ritual then is like, well, what else is, what else with allergy is there? And to me, it's so rich with consumer insights and usage. So like, you'll see, you know, we're pushing into like more beauty related categories, expanded demographics, more clinical around precision microbiome care, all related to our laddering back up to all allergy forward and burst, but leveraging my sweet spot, which is all product innovation.

25:41Lorne Lucree: So like, you know, what we're seeing cross category pulling that in here and then, you know, cool suppliers that I've worked with pulling them in and things like that. So form factors and things like that that we can excite consumers with. Yeah. So cool. Okay. So these like more beauty focused things coming soon. What can you tell us about them? And is there a space in beauty retail for allergy? Oh, man. So I believe so. I mean, to me, like. I always it's like so if you look at like an early early Canva deck. God bless it. was on one of those, on one of my inspo was Jolie as like a shower. Like, cause I do think that like, it's so fascinating what Ryan did with Jolie.

26:22Lorne Lucree: I say this over and over again, of like how he got people to think about this, like a showerhead of all things is like hair health. And to me, that's like ultimate, you know, like he's such a great job with consumer claims, the education. And to me, if I can get people to think about allergy as beauty almost, which, you know, people will adopt things for different reasons, but vanity is a, is a strong, a strong, we're all a little, all little, yes, it's a powerful one. So I feel like, so as much as you can link it to that around routine and reminding yourself, et cetera, I feel like it's like, so that was always, so for me, like a beauty retailer would be like my air one, if you may, like to me, that signals that allergy, that beauty allergy link of like, and to me, that's a really, a really cool place to be.

27:03Lorne Lucree: And then, you know, the products or thinking about are all again, related to rooted in consumer insights around how, you know, how allergies affect other, other parts of your body and, and, and other parts and pieces and other delivery systems and approaches to reduce allergy symptoms and new ways that you haven't even thought about. So yeah, anyway, but not to reveal too much, but yeah, it's, it's pretty rad. Not gonna lie. Very cool. Lauren, thank you so much for such a great conversation. I wish you all the luck. I'm sure you are going to do so well with this. Big congrats. Well, thank you so much.

27:36Lorne Lucree: You're the best. I really appreciate it.

27:42And thank you for listening to this episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast. If you enjoyed it, please leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. And for even more coverage on the beauty industry and more, please visit glossy.co slash beauty. Thank you.